Harbour

Portsmouth Yacht Club

Name: Portsmouth Yacht Club
Address: New Castle, US

3.8New Castle, United StatesMaine

Type: Harbour

Members' yacht club on the Piscataqua River in New Castle, New Hampshire, with a public fuel berth and transient moorings off the clubhouse and in Pepperrell Cove across the river in Maine.

Guide

Approach and anchoring

Approach via the buoyed Piscataqua channel from the entrance off Whaleback Light. The river runs hard, with tidal streams reaching 4 knots at springs between Portsmouth Harbour and the open sea, so time the entry near slack water. The club sits on the south side of New Castle Island, with the moorings laid in deeper water off the float.

Practical

Eight transient moorings for yachts up to 50 ft, picked up on the club float. Fuel berth open daily in season, with diesel and petrol. Pontoons are reserved for members. Showers, heads and a kitchen in the seasonal clubhouse. Call ahead on +1 603 436 9877 before arrival.

Ashore

New Castle village centre is a 10 minute walk, with Fort Constitution and the 1771 lighthouse keeper's house on the point. Portsmouth town, with provisioning and chandlery, is 3 miles up the river by road. Pepperrell Cove at Kittery Point sits half a mile across the river in Maine, with a public landing and restaurants.

History

The club was founded in 1898 on the Piscataqua, one of the oldest deepwater rivers on the New England coast. The river mouth has been a working port since the seventeenth century, with naval shipbuilding at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard on Seavey Island just upstream from the club.